


sweet revenge

by wordsofink



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cute, Fluffy, Friends to Dating, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Mortal AU, fake dating au, long-shot, minor cat death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 08:52:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13900566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsofink/pseuds/wordsofink
Summary: Will and Nico find out that they're dating the same guy. Nico wants revenge. Will just kind of wants to kiss Nico.*characters are not mine unless otherwise stated*





	sweet revenge

Nico was having a bad day. His phone had just died, and he’d left his charger at home in his rush to make the bus. And then he’d almost broken his mug on his way to get coffee only to find that the coffee machine was broken. And he’d forgotten his lunch, which had been sitting next to his charger, and he was not about to go and buy a seven dollar sandwich. And then the guy in the cubicle next to his was playing his music too loud, and Nico didn’t want to listen to classic rock right now.

And he remembered the last text he’d gotten before his phone had shut off. Nico had been dating Jake for almost two years now, and this weekend was their anniversary. But apparently something had come up, and Jake had canceled most of their plans. Over text. Which made Nico cranky because he could see Jake across the room chatting with a lady named Drew.

Nico sighs as he leans towards the desk to his left. “Hey.” He pokes the guy, startling him. His earbuds fall out, and Nico catches the flash of the guy’s name. Will. “Will, uh, hey. I was wondering if you had a phone charger.” Will glances down at Nico’s phone for a moment before shaking his head.

“Nope. But if you need something, I can let you borrow my phone.” Nico nods. He needs to text Hazel to see if she can bring him his lunch on her break (and maybe also his charger). He watches Will unlock the phone before handing it to him. Then he’s putting his earbuds back in and getting back to work.

Nico frowns at the phone for a moment, trying to figure out what each of the symbols means. He taps on the message icon, frowning even more when a familiar name pops up. Against his better judgment, he scrolls through the texts, making sure that Will isn’t watching him. (He isn’t. He’s bobbing his head in time to the music, eyes closed. Which is rather counterproductive.)

And now Nico’s not just having a bad day. He’s having a horrible day. And now he’s not just annoyed. He’s mad. He quickly takes a screenshot of the texts, sending them to his number. He then texts Hazel to bring him his lunch. Then he deletes the previous messages. Will doesn’t deserve his number. Not when he’s been dating Nico’s boyfriend for the past year or so. (Even if Will most likely doesn’t know it.)

He considers it for a moment, thinking back to all of Jake’s actions. He knew Jake was a flirty guy. He flirted with everyone, Nico included. And while this annoyed Nico, it never made him suspect that Jake was actually interested in another person. Jake had also been kind of secretive, but Nico was also kind of secretive, so he’d never tried to pry. (He’s thinking now, maybe, he should have.) But, overall, Jake had been really careful about his cheating.

Nico considers how to break it to Will. From the texts, he’d gathered that they were relatively close, that Will was clearly invested in the relationship. Nico also didn’t really know Will. They had sat next to each other for the past three years. Will had even congratulated Nico when he mentioned that he’d gotten a boyfriend. Nico didn’t even know Will had been in a relationship.

Nico wonders how he’d like to be told that his boyfriend was cheating on him. (In all reality, he’d rather no one told him because he’d rather that his boyfriend not be a jerk. But, alas.) By the time he hands the phone back to Will - who just gives him a thumbs up and a smile - he’s decided he’s just going to rip the band-aid off. Somewhere more private than the office, though.  
-  
Will knows he looks like a fish, with his mouth hanging open and with all of the useless air he’s sucking in. He closes his mouth, his hand automatically coming up to scratch at the back of his neck. The guy whose desk sits next to him is waiting for him to speak. Will doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t even know the guy’s name.

“Er, what’s your name? I mean, I know we’ve worked next to each other for the last few years, but we’ve never actually talked.” The guy smirks, and Will thinks he might die of embarrassment.

“Nico di Angelo.” Will nods. Nico doesn’t ask for Will’s name, though Will has a feeling he probably already knows. He had, in fact, been snooping through his phone. He probably knew a lot of things about Will now. “So, you’re okay?” Nico asks.

“Nice to meet you,” is all Will can think of saying. Then his brain catches up. He feels the emotions surfacing, but he wills himself not to cry. Not in front of a stranger who is probably also going through the same thing. Nico didn’t need Will’s tears and heartache when he had his own. (Well, Will assumed he did, though Nico looked more murderous than anything.)

“No,” he says finally. “But I guess that’s what happens when you find out your boyfriend is also someone else’s boyfriend.” Will sighs, running his hands over his face. “I feel like an idiot.”

Nico’s expression softens. “If it makes you feel any better, I hadn’t noticed anything suspicious either.” It doesn’t make Will feel better, but he doesn’t say this. If anything, it makes him feel more stupid. Because he always tried to make sure that his partners felt that they could trust him and talk to him. (And he also hoped that his partners returned his feelings at least with equal or greater value.) So it kind of sucked to realize that Jake was just an overall jerk.

Now they’re both standing awkwardly by the broken coffee machine. Will stops scratching at his neck. Nico nods like Will’s said something, like they’ve come to an agreement.

“What should we do?” Will asks.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for revenge,” Nico says. If Will weren’t so upset, he’d actually be a little terrified. “As for you, you can do whatever, though I’d recommend breaking up with Jake. Just because he’s a jerk and all, and you probably deserve better.”

It’s Will’s turn to nod. Nico nods back, spinning around and heading out of the office. Will lets out a long breath, completely unsure of what to do.  
-  
“So, there’s that office party,” Nico starts. He chides himself on how awkward he sounds, but it’s not his fault that he’s never had experience talking to his ex’s ex. He’s not even sure if Will has gotten over it. (The classic rock had abruptly become classical and pop, a combination Nico had never thought of.)

“Yeah, you going?” Will asks. Nico shrugs. He’d been thinking about it. Office parties were a great way to get free food. He honestly didn’t go to them for any other reason. Why else hang out with people he already saw eight hours a day for an extra few hours? But this particular office party was the annual cookout, a special treat for all employees of the greeting card industry.

“I was thinking of it.” Will nods. “You?”

Will shrugs. “I don’t know. I hardly know anyone in this office.” Nico found that hard to believe. Will was always saying hi to people, always wishing them a happy birthday, always asking them about things in their lives. Nico supposes it could just be an excuse not to go. “How’s your revenge going?”

Nico huffs. He’d been brainstorming for the past few days, but he hadn’t come up with much. Jake was a pretty easy-going person, and Nico didn’t want to actually lose his job. So he had to find a happy medium. “I’m still working on it, I guess. Just been busy.”

Will nods. “You know,” he says, “it’d be pretty crazy if we started dating.” He gives a short laugh, turning to put his earbuds back in.

“We could,” Nico says. Will looks surprised. “As a way to get back at him, I mean. Like, the two people he liked are now together.” It could work. Jake was pretty shallow, always trying to make sure his outward appearance was perfect. To be publicly exposed like that would be pretty damaging. (And then maybe Nico wouldn’t have to watch him flirting with Drew every day. He hoped Will hadn’t noticed.)

“Um, sure. I guess.” Will scratches at the back of his neck again, and Nico thinks Will wouldn’t be the worst person to pretend to date. He’d seemed really sweet and caring in his texts to Jake, and Nico already knew Will was a decent person. (Not that he was a great judge of character, clearly.)

“We could meet up sometime this weekend to get to know each other. And plan. And stuff.” Now that it’s actually happening, it feels weird. Will gives him a small smile, nodding.

“Yeah, sure. I can give you my number. We can meet up at that cafe down the street or something. Or my place is available.” His cheeks redden, and Nico has to resist laughing.

“Coffee sounds good.” He plugs Will’s number into his phone, sending a message so Will has his. “How about Saturday at 2?”

“Good, yeah,” Will says. He waits a few more seconds before putting his earbuds back in. Nico hears the pop music change to jazz, but he’s not sure what that means.  
-  
“So let me get this straight,” Kayla says, and Will sighs, already regretting calling her. “You’re going on a date with a guy who your ex-boyfriend was cheating on you with?”

“I guess, yeah. But a fake date. We’re not really dating.” He hears Kayla hum.

“Sure, Will.” Will’s about to protest, but Kayla continues. “I want to be invited to your wedding. Oh, and if you ever want to just eat ice cream and watch movies, give me a call.”

Will smiles. “I’ll hold you to that.” Ice cream and movies was a cliché way to get over a jerk of a boyfriend, but Will thought it worked well. Ice cream was amazing, and that combined with movies meant he didn’t have to talk. He could just immerse himself in someone else’s life. Then he could cry for a few hours and be over whoever had broken his heart this time.

“You seem to be getting over him well.” Will shrugs. “Proud of you, brother. Don’t let the jerks get to you.” Will hears some talking in the background. “Hey, I’ve got to go. Have fun on your date! I expect to see some cute pictures later.”Will spends the next five minutes trying to will away the blush that’s crept onto his cheeks. It wouldn’t do to show up to a planning session for a fake date with a blush. After all, this was about revenge. He’s not sure what a revenge face looks like, but he’s sure Nico will have that covered.

He gets to the coffee shop first. Then Nico comes in wearing all black. Black jeans and a black T-shirt. Black shoes. He even seems to be wearing eyeliner. It’s definitely not what he wears to work every day. There is no sign of the button down shirts and slacks or tie. Will gets up to grab a handful of napkins just for something to do. Nico gets some coffee, sitting down across from Will.

“Hey.” Will nods.

“I’ve never done this before, so how does it work?”

Nico shrugs. “Dunno. I’ve never done this either.” He pauses, sipping his coffee. “I guess we could just get to know each other. Like we’ve been dating, you know. Stuff like that.”

“So, dating without dating,” Will says. Nico nods.

“Exactly. All of the information without the dates. Like friends almost.”

“Partners,” Will says. Nico shrugs.“Co-workers.” Will nods. “So, let’s just play some twenty questions or something. Get to know each other.” He pauses, smirking. “I’m Nico di Angelo.”

“Will Solace,” Will says. He’s not sure what to do about Nico’s smirk. He shoves the rest of his muffin into his mouth. They sit in silence while Will works through swallowing the muffin without choking. “Favorite color?” Will asks.

“Purple.” That surprises Will. He’d have guessed it was black with the amount of it in sight. “And I’m guessing yours is something generic like blue or yellow.” Will pouts because Nico is right.

“Yellow.” He pauses. “Favorite food?”

They go back and forth like that for a while until they get into an argument about whether the beach or the mountains is the best place to vacation. Will loves the beach: the sun, the ocean, the peace and quiet. Nico loves the mountains: the nature, the atmosphere, the isolation. Nico refills his coffee, and Will grabs another muffin.

Nico’s actually a pretty interesting person (even if he is intimidating), and Will enjoys listening to Nico’s perspective on things. Like, Nico has two sisters and a dog. His family is from Italy, and he wanted to be an artist when he was little.

“Well, you kind of accomplished that,” Will says.

“Yeah. If you count drawing cute little cartoons on cards as accomplished.” Will shrugs. “I mean, I can do way better, but there’s no way someone would want to buy a greeting card with that on it.”

“So, why the greeting card business and not what you really wanted?” Will asks. He hopes it’s not too personal of a question. He actually wants to know.

“It was a job, and it was better than the others that were offered.” He pauses. “It isn’t a bad job. It’s just not what I would have seen myself doing for three years. It does pay the bill, though. And we have catered parties, so that’s a plus. Why are you here? Watch too much Hallmark as a kid?”

Will laughs. “I did, but that’s not really what I was aiming for. It was a job, and I thought it was cute. And I had no idea it could be so hard to write vague sentiments.” He runs a hand through his hair. Nico laughs. “Seriously, try to write about how amazing someone is without making it extremely personal but also like it was made for someone.”

Nico shrugs. “Hey, I just design the cards. I don’t have to write them.” He smiles as he takes a sip of coffee. “So, what did you want to do?”

“Teaching,” Will says. “Elementary, probably.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Will shrugs. “A lot of things happened. And then I just needed a job. And since my degree was in English, I decided writing cards couldn’t be so bad.” Nico doesn’t ask him to unpack that any more than he was willing, and he was grateful. “But then writing cards was hard. And then my boyfriend cheated on me. And now I’m having coffee with you.”

“Do they have cards for that?” Will laughs. They continue to talk for another hour or so until they look at the time, realizing that they each have places to be. They make hasty plans to meet next weekend to continue the meet and greet. Then they’re dashing off to their separate lives.  
-  
“So you don’t think this is a bad idea?” Hazel asks. Nico groans. They’ve been at this for at least thirty minutes, and neither one of them has budged. “I mean, he’s probably upset. And then you’re dragging him into another relationship? I don’t approve of rebounds.”

Nico sighs. “It’s not a rebound. It’s revenge, Hazel. And he brought it up. I just came up with a reason for doing it.”

“Further persuading him.”

“Further persuasion implies that he was already partially persuaded. Look, he can back out anytime. We didn’t sign a contract or make a promise.” He pauses. “Besides, we’ve only met up once.”

Hazel sighs. “Bianca doesn’t approve either.” Nico pouts. Bianca hadn’t approved of any of his relationships. Sure, she’d been right about most of them, but that didn’t make her opinion any more important. “I just think that people could get hurt,” Hazel says.

“Just trust me on this, okay?” Hazel doesn’t agree, but she doesn’t push him either. “I’ll ask Will when I see him next, okay? To make sure that consent is on both sides, that we’re on the same page.”

“And what if you end up liking him?” Nico frowns. What did Hazel mean?

“Another friend wouldn’t hurt, I suppose. You’re always on me about making friends.”

“You know that’s not what I mean. But, yes. You need to make more friends. I bet the latest social interaction was with Mrs. O’Leary.” Nico shrugs. He loved his dog. He wasn’t ashamed to admit this. He would be more ashamed if he didn’t love his dog. Besides, Mrs. O’Leary understood him perfectly. Why bother with messy feelings when he didn’t have to?

“So what?” Hazel fixes him with a look. “Fine. But I’m not Will’s type. Trust me.”

“Jake wasn’t your type.” Now Hazel chose to cast her vote about Jake. She’d been quiet on the subject of him for the whole almost two years that they’d been dating. And now she decided that she didn’t like him. (He did have to give her some credit. As long as they made Nico happy, she waited to cast her judgment. Bianca would probably still disapprove even if Nico were married.) “We’re just looking out for you, Nico. We want you to be happy.”

“Well, I’m perfectly happy. All things relating to Jake aside.” He was more frustrated about Jake than anything. After officially breaking up, he’d realized that Jake was more of a colleague than anything. They’d used each other for social interaction and human bonding, but they hadn’t really bonded.

“How about we meet Will? He sounds like a really nice guy, and I’m sure Bianca would be less judgmental if she met him.” Nico shrugs. He hadn’t really planned on getting his sisters involved in this. It made things messier (what with all of the bonding), and it made things less fake (which was kind of the main point).

“I’ll see,” he says, and Hazel pouts. “Really. I’ll ask him, and we’ll see.” Hazel sighs, but she drops the subject.

“Now, what’s for dinner? I’m starving.”  
-  
“I see you’ve been getting friendly with di Angelo,” Drew says. Will sighs. It’s not that he dislikes Drew, he just doesn’t really like her all that much either. She’s one of those people who has one too many opinions about everyone else’s work and none about her (except that it’s perfection), and Will just can’t work with people like that.

“Um, yeah. We decided that since we sit next to each other and all.” Drew nods. She taps her manicured nails on Will’s desk. “Did you need something?”

“I was just checking on you. I heard you’ve suffered a recent breakup.” Well, word certainly traveled quickly. Though Will shouldn’t be surprised at how often he saw Jake talking (flirting) with Drew. “I mean, you two probably weren’t good for each other, but it can still be tough.”

“Yeah, um, I’m doing okay.” Will’s starting to wonder how many people thought he was dating Jake and how many people thought he was dating Nico. He wondered which of them was swept under the rug. (And while he really hoped it wasn’t him, he really also hoped it wasn’t Nico.)) And maybe Drew isn’t even talking about Jake. Maybe she’s just too invested in the office gossip.

“Okay, sweetie. Just know you can always come talk to me, okay?” Will nods. Then Drew gives him a very awkward hug. She waves to him on her way back to her own desk. Will’s never been so happy to see her flirt with Jake.

“I can’t tell if she wants to date Jake or you,” comes a voice. Will flings his chair around, knocking his knees into his desk. Nico’s standing here (button down shirt and tie), smirking. “Good morning, Solace.”

“She and Jake would be perfect for each other,” Will says. He shivers at the thought of dating Drew. Nico glances at the two of them flirting by the copy machine.

“So,” Nico says. “I was thinking, maybe you should meet some of my friends or family or something.” Will nods slowly, just blinking. Nico had never offered up any more personal information than Will had asked for, and he’d only ever offered up the bare minimum. (Which Will understood, but he’d really like to get to know Nico better.) “Because it’d help to make our story more believable and such.”

Will shrugs. “Um, sure. And you can meet my family.” Will cringes internally. He hadn’t really had much of a social life since graduating. Working a nine to five job in an office didn’t really leave him much time to do much else. Well, he volunteered on the weekends, but he hadn’t really made any friends. Right now his social circle consisted of his siblings, his mother, and his cat (and he hated to admit that only Kayla was within his age range).

“I know you’re not incredibly popular,” Nico says. “It’s okay. You don’t have to impress me.” And then he winks. And Will thinks he’s going to have a heart attack.

“Yeah, okay,” is all Will can get out. Nico finally clears that smirk off of his face.

“So, Friday evening? My sisters want to meet you, and they hardly take no for an answer.” Will understood that. Once Kayla had her mind made up, it wasn’t going to change unless something drastic happened. “I’ll text you with the details.”

“Sounds good. I don’t really have any plans.” Nico nods, typing some things into his phone. Will hears his phone buzz.

“Until then,” Nico says, and then he’s hunched over his desk, doodling on some printer paper.  
-  
Nico was mildly freaking out about dinner. Mostly because Bianca was coming over. It had nothing to do with Will. Hazel was sitting at the kitchen table, a mild look of amusement on her face. She was supposed to be helping, except Nico hadn’t quite decided what he was fixing for dinner yet.

“How about a pasta dish?” Hazel suggests. “You have an entire cookbook full of stuff.” Nico had an entire shelf full of cookbooks, but he hated to cook under pressure. And this had to be relatively perfect. Because somehow, for some reason, Bianca called the shots.

“Yeah, okay. Good idea,” Nico says. He starts flipping through some of his favorite books, looking for the dog-eared pages.

“I don’t know why you’re so nervous. Because Will’s just a friend, right?” Hazel asks. Nico shoots Hazel a glare.

“Yes, he’s a friend. But if Bianca scares him away, there’s no way we can get sweet revenge on Jake.” Hazel hums, and Nico knows she doesn’t believe him. “You were the one who told me not to get into relationships right after break-ups. I’m just being smart.”

“Well, don’t let that rule be the only reason you don’t kiss Will Whatever-his-last-name-is before the next month.” Nico makes a face.

“His last name is Solace.” Hazel beams. “And don’t you have to go and pick Bianca up?”

Hazel shakes her head. “She’s been here before. She knows how to get around. You can’t get rid of me that easily, Nico.” Nico just shrugs. He flips through a few more cookbooks before finding the perfect recipe.

“Well, would you mind running to the grocery store?” Hazel sighs, but she stands up. The saying is true, Nico thinks. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

He’s managed to get everything on the table by the time that Will rings his doorbell. Bianca is having an in-depth discussion with Hazel about Nico’s personal habits or something along those lines, and why did Nico think that this was a good idea?

“Hey,” Will says. He’s smiling as usual. He holds out a few bars of chocolate. “I, um, brought housewarming gifts. I wasn’t sure what kind you liked, though.” Nico takes the chocolate, ushering Will into his apartment. Mrs. O’Leary is second in greeting Will. She sniffs at his shoes before sticking her nose into his hand. Will jumps, but he pats at her head. Mrs. O’Leary seems to approve of him.

“Hi, Will,” Bianca says. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

There’s a slight bit of pink on Will’s cheeks now. Nico wonders briefly if Will likes girls. If he did, Bianca was a dangerous match. She had high standards, and she made sure to keep them. Will shakes her hand, pointing out the chocolates. Bianca gives him a sharp smile, glancing at Nico. Hazel saves them all.

“Hi, Will. Come sit. Dinner’s ready.” Will looks relieved as he sits down. They go through introductions again, and Nico wonders if he’s going to have to fight for his dog. She’s currently curled up on Will’s feet, tail thumping against the ground. (Nico wonders if Will is feeding her. Which he better not be.)

Bianca asks her questions, which Will carefully answers. He seems unsure. Hazel tries to soften them, offering second helpings and easier conversation. Nico’s not sure what to do. Dinner with his sisters was a pretty mundane thing to him, unless there was company.

“So, Will,” Nico hears Bianca say. Nico wishes Bianca didn’t have to take the role of older sister so dear to her heart. He was a grown man. He should be able to make decisions for himself. (Though he wasn’t about to admit that Bianca had actually saved him a lot of grief on multiple occasions.) “What’s a smart guy like you doing writing greeting cards?”

“Hey!” Nico protests. Even Hazel hushes him this time. Nico pouts, reaching under the table to try and pat Mrs. O’Leary’s head, but Will’s hand is already there.

“Well, you know, life and all. Thought I was going into teaching, but then plans changed.” He pauses, taking a bite of mashed potatoes. He takes a few more before he realizes that they’re waiting for him to go on. “But writing greeting cards is kind of fun. You go shopping, and you can see your words there. And you know that you’ve helped someone out.” He adds a smile at the end. Bianca takes it. Nico’s never felt so relieved in his life.  
“How about some dessert? Nico makes the best chocolate cake,” Hazel says.

Will grins. “I guess we’ll see about that. My mama is a baker.” Hazel grins. “And, honestly, chocolate cake is just amazing in general.”

Bianca smirks. “You haven’t tasted Nico’s.” Nico takes that as his cue to actually go and get the chocolate cake. He’d made it while he was stressing out about Bianca’s arrival. He cuts four slices and plates them, adding some fresh strawberries.

He’s not prepared for the sound Will makes upon eating the first bite, something like a moan and being strangled. And neither is Will who’s face quickly goes red. Hazel’s smiling. Bianca looks smug. Will washes the bite down with milk, glancing at Nico.

“The cake is magnificent. But I should have known after tasting your pasta.” Nico feels himself blush, and he wills it away. He catches Hazel smiling at him.

Dinner goes relatively quickly after that. The conversation becomes more relaxed. Bianca’s done with her interrogation, and she seems to have lightened up about Will. She kicks Nico’s shin, though Nico’s not sure what that’s about. And then Will is heading home, two slices of cake tucked under his arm.

“If you don’t kiss him, I’m going to,” Bianca says. She winks at him. Nico looks at Hazel for help, but she’s laughing.

“I told you, Nico. Better get the boy before he’s taken again.” Bianca nods.

“He’s definitely got a crush, and you’re definitely crushing. So I’m approving it.” Nico groans. Bianca’s approval only meant that she and Hazel were now going to have weekly phone calls with updates about his love life. He appreciated his family, but he didn’t understand why they had to get so involved.

“What if I’m not crushing?” Nico asks. He winces at the wording. He definitely doesn’t have a crush. He hasn’t had a crush since he got over Percy Jackson in the seventh grade. He hadn’t really had a crush on Jake. He’d just liked Jake, and Jake had seemed to like him.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if someone else kissed him,” Bianca says. Nico huffs.  
“I wouldn’t. He can kiss whoever he wants.” Hazel just pats his shoulder, glancing at Bianca.

Nico doesn’t care about their secret sister language. Will can kiss whoever he wants. They’re only fake dating, which means that they’re only doing this for revenge. And while Nico would be slightly upset that Will would be kissing someone so soon, it would only be because he wouldn’t want Will to get into a rebound relationship. (He knew from experience that those almost never worked out.) He and Will were friends, and that’s what friend did, watched each other’s backs. He was just looking out for Will.

“Whatever you say, Nico.”  
-  
Will frowns at the text Kayla’s just sent him. He does not have a crush on Nico di Angelo. They were just friends, hanging out only because Nico wanted to get revenge. Yes, he kind of thought revenge was petty, but Nico was a really cool person. And he needed more friends in his life. His cat didn’t count (and she was more like an old lady than a friend).

He taps back a response only to be completely ignored as Kayla asks for a picture of the two of them. Will’s fingers hover over the photo app on his phone. He has three pictures of him and Nico together, mostly a selfie of himself with Nico doing something in the background. Only one of them actually shows Nico smiling at the camera.

Nico and he had been fake dating for almost a month now, and (in Will’s opinion) they had gotten pretty close. Will went over to Nico’s on the weekend sometimes to play video games or to eat his food. Nico’s cooking was amazing. And sometimes Nico and Will met up to walk around the park or window shop downtown. Nico referred to these outings as fake dates.

Will kind of wished that they were real. But Nico was probably not interested in him, and it was best not to use Nico as a rebound for the loneliness he felt when they weren’t hanging out. Against his better judgment, he sends Kayla one of the pictures. She responds only with heart eyes and a harmless threat telling Will to kiss the boy.

“Texting during work, Solace?” comes Nico’s voice. Will looks up so fast he’s sure he almost gave himself whiplash. “And here I thought you were going to be the star employee of the month.” Will just hopes he’s not blushing. He quickly exits out of the photos and messaging apps.

“It’ll probably go to Drew anyway. Can’t compete.” Nico rolls his eyes, and Will finds himself imagining Nico sitting on his couch, just watching a movie. They would have the popcorn bowl on the table so that they could cuddle without interference. And there would be a warm blanket and maybe Nico would laugh at something funny. And then Will could kiss-

He’s snapped back to reality when Nico sets a mug of coffee on his desk. “You’re funny today, Will. Get some sleep, okay?”

Will’s not sure if he and Nico have discussed their sleeping habits, but he’d be willing to. He bets Nico looks amazing with bedhead and drooping eyes. He quickly erases the thought, grabbing the coffee and chugging. He needs to stop daydreaming. He needs to get to work, write some good cards.

Nico’s still giving him a funny look, but Will pretends not to notice. He isn’t supposed to be falling in love with his fake partner. That wasn’t how these things worked.  
-  
Nico’s about to go to bed when his phone starts buzzing. Thinking it’s Hazel, he answers.

“Nico?” He hears sniffling, and it’s definitely not Hazel. “I’m, uh, sorry if I woke you. Um, yeah.” There’s another round of sniffling.

“Will?” Nico’s not sure what to do in these situations. He’s seen people cry, but he’d always been the kind of person to let other people handle it. He didn’t deal with feelings like other people did (like most people should), so comforting people was not his expertise. “What’s wrong?”

“Um, well.” There’s a pause. “My cat died.” Nico glances over at Mrs. O’Leary who’s currently taking up half of the couch. “I don’t mean to bother you. I just don’t know what to do.” Pause. “Well, I mean, I do know. But I don’t know.” And then the talking dissolves into quiet crying.

“Do you want me to come over?” Nico asks. He and Will have become friends over the past month or so. It wouldn’t be weird if Nico went over to help Will deal with losing his cat.

“You don’t have to. I probably woke you up. Or am keeping you up. And it’s just a cat, I guess.” Nico sighs. It is just a cat, but the cat was the only member of Will’s family Nico had met (even though Kayla apparently only lived twenty minutes away). And Nico knew how much Will loved that cat.

“I’ll be over in ten minutes. I can bring Mrs. O’Leary.”

“Yeah, okay,” Will says. “I picked up some treats for her today.” Nico feels himself smile before he’s changing into something more suitable than pajamas. Then he’s hooking on Mrs. O’Leary’s leash and heading out.

Will greets him with red-rimmed eyes and cat hair all over his shirt. Nico lets Will pull him into a hug, though it doesn’t last long as Mrs. O’Leary thinks she’s over for a playdate. They stand in the doorway for a few moments, each of them trying to figure out what to do.

“Have you eaten?” Nico asks. Will shrugs. Nico nods. “I’ll fix us something.” He’s not really hungry, but he needs something to do. Will sits down on the couch, Mrs. O’Leary hopping up next to him. Nico hopes Will doesn’t mind pets on the furniture. Nico fixes them some sandwiches, bringing them over.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Sometimes when they hung out, they didn’t talk. Which Nico thought was kind of weird, but it didn’t feel weird at the time. Sometimes it was nice to just to kind of hang out without having to do or say anything.

Will shrugs, so Nico pops a movie in. It’s some Disney movie, but Will doesn’t sing along to the songs. He just pets Mrs. O’Leary and eats his sandwich. Nico fetches them a blanket, spreading it over all of their legs. If Will weren’t so sad right now, he’d pretend to complain that Mrs. O’Leary was stealing Will away from him. But as it was, he was kind of glad that they weren’t almost cuddling. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

Will dozes off at some point during the movie. Nico lets Mrs. O’Leary outside to do her business. He’s not sure if he should wake Will up, just leave him there. He’d feel bad if he just up and left. But he also didn’t want to wake Will up. It was almost midnight on a Friday night, though, so he wasn’t too worried.

This time, Mrs. O’Leary stretches out on the end of the couch. Nico gives her a look as he takes the middle of the couch. Will shifts towards him, though Nico’s sure that’s just because he’s warm. (Although, he’s pretty sure that Will’s warmer. The guy was like a heater.) And then Will’s head is on Nico’s shoulder. Nico lets it be. Grief was hard, and he wasn’t going to deny his friend comfort.

By the end of the movie, Nico’s eyelids are drooping. Between Will’s soft breathing and his warm presence and Mrs. O’Leary’s head in his lap, Nico feels more comfortable than he’s felt in a while.  
-  
Will’s pretty sure the best way to ruin a friendship with Nico is to cry over your dead cat in the middle of the night and then fall asleep on him. He’s not sure what to think about the experience. He’d woken up Saturday morning with a crick in his neck but that thought was quickly subdued by the fact that his head was in Nico’s lap. And Nico’s fingers were in his hair. (And then Mrs. O’Leary had practically squashed him in her hurry to tell him that she needed to use the bathroom. Cue the awkward conversation.)

And now Nico hadn’t quite looked at him right since then. Of course, Nico could just be making things up. He did have the tendency to overreact sometimes. But the party was in two weeks, and they had to get their act together. Will had to get his act together. Nico was nothing but professional.

“Look, I think we should just move past this,” Nico’s saying. He’s fixed them breakfast, even scrambled the eggs, though Nico likes omelets better. “We’re friends, and friends help each other out.”

Will nods. Nico was right. It didn’t matter how cute Nico looked that morning or how nice it felt to have his fingers running through Will’s hair. They were friends first and foremost, and they were fake dating to get revenge on their ex. That was all.

“So, nothing should be awkward because that’s what friends do.” Will nods again. Then he shoves the rest of his eggs into his mouth. (He was pretty sure Nico thought he didn’t know how to eat properly.)

“Well, thanks for being my awesome friend and helping me through the loss of Greta,” Will says. He almost misses the way Nico’s mouth twitches. “Greta is a perfectly fine name for a cat!” he protests. Nico just shrugs.

“I didn’t say anything. I think it’s a perfectly endearing name for a cat. For anything, really.” Will nods.

“You’d better. Rest in peace, Greta.” It still hurts that he’s alone now, but Nico makes it easier. “I’m going to bury her today,” Will adds.

“Would you like help?” Nico asks.

Will shrugs. “Only if you want to. I’m capable of digging a grave.” Nico nods.

“Well, I wasn’t going to offer any manual labor,” Nico says, smirking. “But I am offering emotional support.” Will gives Nico a smile, nodding. He was glad he didn’t have to go through this alone. Yeah, it might have been silly to need emotional support after losing a cat, but Greta was a darn good cat. And Will owed her the respect she deserved.

They spent the afternoon burying her. Luckily, it’d rained recently so the ground wasn’t too hard. Still, it was kind of embarrassing how much Will struggled to dig a decent hole. (He blamed it on all of the fake coffee dates they went on. Those muffins were amazing, which probably spoke to their nutrition content.) And after all the words had been said and the little gravestone placed over the mound of dirt, Nico made soup.

And Will wanted to kiss Nico more than he’d ever wanted to kiss anyone before. But he couldn’t because he’d just lost his cat (sadness sometimes made for bad kissing), and you give real kisses to fake partners.  
-  
Nico was nervous. It was one thing to pretend to date when no one was watching. It was a completely different thing to do so when you wanted people to notice. Nico had never been the kind for flashing his life for all to see, but he felt some kind of power to be holding Will’s hand right now.

“How are we doing this?” Will asks.

Nico shrugs. “I think we’ve just got to be super cute and in love in front of Jake. Make him feel bad for cheating us.” Will nods slowly. He scratches the back of his neck, running a hand through his hair. He’s wearing a light green shirt and cargo shorts and flip-flops. Nico’s in his traditional outfit: black.

“So, do we hunt him down or just be cute all over? Will asks.

“Probably both,” Nico decides. “Would it be too much to ask for a kiss?” Nico’s not expecting Will’s face to turn red or his hand to become sweaty. He’s also not expecting the weird flip his stomach does. (He’s probably hungry. He’d had a small breakfast to make sure he could take full advantage of the catering.)

“Not too much at all,” Will says. He’s still really red, and Nico would be more worried if the food hadn’t just arrived. He pulls Will into the line.

“After food. I’m hungry.” Will nods. They continue to hold hands until they have to get their plates. Then they sit together, and Nico makes sure they aren’t sitting near Drew. (He doesn’t want a lecture about how this is a summer cookout and black is hardly in season.)

“I didn’t realize you two were dating,” one lady says. “You’re very professional in the office.” Nico nods as Will starts talking to her. He’s not interested in convincing the rest of the office. That’ll just make it harder when he and Will have to fake their breakup.

“She thinks we’re cute,” Will says. He’s beaming, clearly proud of himself. Nico smiles. “There he is.”

Nico looks to where Will’s pointing. Jake’s surrounded by people Nico doesn’t really know. They must work in a different department from him. Nico feels Will slip his hand into Nico’s. They stand up. Jake actually looks a bit nervous as they walk up to him.

“Enjoying the cookout?” Jake asks. Nico nods. He lets Will carry the conversation. He’s more interested in seeing if he can burn holes into Jake’s body. (It doesn’t work.) Then Drew shows up, and Nico walks away. He’s upset that Jake hadn’t seemed too bothered by them being together. He wanted more of a reaction. He realized he was pouting, but he didn’t care. Jake had hurt him, and he couldn’t just let him get away with that.

Nico turns to ask Will something, but he must miss or something because Will’s lips are on his. It’s a little more forceful than anything, but Nico finds himself enjoying it. Will’s lips are soft (from the ridiculous amount of chapstick he uses), and he’s not a bad kisser. He can feel Will smiling into the kiss, dipping him back ever so slightly. Will was always such a romantic.

They pull away to catch their breaths. Will’s cheeks are bright red, and someone is whistling. But the best part is Jake’s and Drew’s faces. They’re both standing there, mouths hanging wide open. It looks like Jake’s spilled something on his shirt. Drew storms away.

“What the heck?” Jake asks. Will smirks (Nico feels his stomach completely drop).

“Just showing my boyfriend how much I love him,” he drawls. Nico’s too stunned to back him up. “I’m a pretty good kisser, yeah?”

“Just- you two- be professional!” And then Jake is stomping away. Will laughs, and Nico’s pulled back to the present.

“How was that for revenge?” Will’s grinning and laughing, and he’s got some chocolate on the corner of his mouth. So Nico just pulls him in for another kiss.

They’re officially boyfriends (according to Will) when Will pops the question through a card. It’s sitting on his desk when he shows up for work on Monday, Will’s familiar handwriting on the envelope. He’s not sure what to expect. After kissing throughout the cookout (and watching Jake’s face get redder and redder), they hadn’t really decided on what they were doing with their relationship.

But now there’s this card. Nico opens it, expecting to find one of the generic office cards. Instead, there’s his name on the front of the card. He opens it. And then he’s pulling Will’s earbuds out and smashing their lips together. He hears Jake groan but he doesn’t care. Will’s just asked to be his boyfriend (through card, dork).

“That is not professional,” Jake groans.

Nico just shrugs. Will’s got this dopey grin on his face, and that’s all that really matters.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated :)


End file.
